Jan van Walré

[1] In the same year, he joined a literature society started by Adriaan Loosjes, Vlijt moeder der Wetenschappen, and became an actor.

[1] In 1787 Walré joined the Haarlem vrijkorps (armed citizen's guard) named Pro aris et focis as a captain and served in 1787 in Nieuwersluis.

[1] Loosjes began to avoid politics and in 1789 he started the Haarlem scientific society Maatschappij tot Nut van 't Algemeen.

To continue his comedy pursuits, he began the society Democriet in the same year with the remark Because Heraclitus had to cry, Democritus had to laugh.

[1] According to the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD), Walré was the grandmaster of the Haarlem satirical literary society Democriet and an amateur draughtsman.

Portrait of Jan van Walré with his horse, dog, and stable boy, by Wybrand Hendricks , 1787